The Root Chakra: Foods to Ground and Strengthen
We’ve all read about mantras, meditations and asanas for balancing our seven main chakras but along with our lifestyle, what we eat can effect our chakras as well.
In this series I’ll be breaking down foods you should be eating and drinking to help balance out your seven main chakras!
Lets start with our first chakra: our grounding chakra.
Located at the base of the spine, the Root Chakra (Muladhara) forms our foundation and is the building block on which all other chakras rest. Associated with the color red and the symbol of the four-petal Lotus flower, the Root Chakra deals with feelings of security, trust and survival as well as with the connection we experience with our physical body and its nourishment.
When this chakra is in balance we feel grounded, strong and secure and have a sense of inner security that allows us to trust in the universe. If this chakra is blocked a person may feel emotionally explosive, manipulative or may lack energy. Physical problems can include kidney weakness, stiff lower back and muscle spasms.
So when we think root chakra, we want to focus in on grounding. Adding in foods like: carrots, potatoes, parsnips, radishes, onions and garlic, and anything else that roots itself, can have a soothing effect for our root chakra.
Dandelion Root tea can be a great way to end a day that has left you feeling a little disconnected, and it’s caffeine free!
A healthy root chakra vibrates at the color red. Therefore, red foods provide the vibration needed to help balance the root chakra. Nutritionally, red foods usually have high levels of vitamin C–a nutrient utilized by several body parts that the root chakra oversees, like bones, teeth, skin and adrenals. Some red foods you could try are tomatoes, strawberries, apples, pomegranates and cherries.
Recipe: Kale and Mushroom Stuffed Potatoes
Here’s a grounding recipe I love to make when I feel a little unsettled or shaken.
Ingredients:
4 potatoes
Grapeseed oil
1 1/2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup kidney beans
1 cup of kale
1 cup of mushrooms
Parsley, salt and pepper for seasoning
Directions:
Heat over to 350 degrees
Wash 4 potatoes of your choosing, I used russet but you could also you sweet.
Poke holes and coat with oil of choosing, I used grapeseed for high temperature cooking.
Add a little salt and pop in the oven. Times may very, as you know when it comes to potatoes. I say about an hour.
Meanwhile, sauté 1/2 a red onion and the garlic cloves until clear. Add in the kidney beans and sauté for about three minutes. Then add in the kale, mushrooms, and one chopped red onion. Season with a little parsley, salt and pepper.
Once the potatoes are done, slice down the middle and combined the mixture into the middle of the potato. Pop back in the oven for just about 10 minutes while its still warm–but not on–just to allow the flavored to soak in.
Serve while warm and enjoy!
About the Author
Chakra Balancing and Wellbeing
Meditation isn’t always for the purpose of moving into quiet states of stillness. We can use meditation practice as a way to check in with ourselves and better direct our energy. Guided meditations are an awareness tool that allows us to be in conscious, present creation with ourselves.
What Are Chakras?
Chakras are points where the energetic and physical bodies meet. Imagine chakras like wheels constantly in motion. If these wheels are “stuck,” energy cannot move and we might feel out of whack. Located in the subtle body, there are hundreds of chakras, although the primary seven from the Muladhara system are where the most focus is given.
These main seven chakras are:
- Root – base of spine – Muladhara – red
- Sacral – below the naval – Svadisthana – orange
- Solar Plexus – above navel – Manipura — yellow
- Heart – heart, center of chest – Anahata — green
- Throat – throat – Visuddha —blue
- 3rd eye — at forehead between the eyes — Ajna — indigo
- Crown— top of head — Sahasrara — violet
Chakra Color Variations
This modern-day chakra color system comes from the cover of a 1977 out-of-print book by Christopher Hills. If this system works for you, go with it. However, if you discover that your root chakra is another color, go with that. When I visualize my root chakra color as red, for instance, I feel antsy and uncomfortable. When I place gold there, I feel peaceful and relaxed. Play with the colors and find that which supports you. It’s also perfectly fine if you don’t see or experience any color at all.
